The Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence & Trade References Committee inquiry into Australia’s support for Ukraine has made 22 recommendations for the Australian Government to strengthen our support for Ukraine.

Key recommendations include that the Australian Government should:

• Re-open the Australian embassy in Ukraine
• Appoint a Coordinator-General to lead coordination of Australia’s assistance and support across all agencies
• Support the lifting of restrictions on the Armed Forces of Ukraine to strike military targets in Russia
• Urgently direct the Department of Defence to develop plans to provide Ukraine with military assistance including additional Bushmasters, Hawkei reconnaissance vehicles, M1A1 Abrams tanks and Tiger Armed Reconnaissance helicopters
• Acknowledge the role that China, Iran and North Korea are playing in supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ensure Australia’s foreign policy settings reflect this reality

Committee Chair, Senator Claire Chandler, said that supporting Ukraine to defeat the Russian invasion remains a critical priority for the future stability of our own Indo-Pacific region.

“The Committee found that a Russian victory in Ukraine would not only be a humanitarian disaster, but it would embolden other authoritarian states including those actively supporting Russia to use military force in their own regions,” Senator Chandler said.

“Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, government and opposition have consistently supported Ukraine, both rhetorically and with over $1.3 billion in direct assistance.

“However, the committee heard evidence from many witnesses and experts that Australia can and should do more to support Ukraine’s defence and that is clearly in our national interests to do so.”

The committee inquiry received more than 220 submissions and heard evidence from witnesses at three public hearings. The full report is available at https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/UkraineSupport47/Report.